Field Contributions
Documentary Film
In Erasing ED, five former clients from the private psychotherapy practice of Nicole Laby, MFT, tell their unique and compelling stories of recovery. They expose the ugly and depraved aspects of ED (eating disorders) that permeated their lives for years. Each person explores recovery from ED, and the specific therapeutic tools they used to create lives free from pain and isolation.
The film Erasing ED is unique in its focus on the recovery aspect of eating disorders. Mental and physical health-care practitioners, as well as psychology graduate programs, frequently offer poor prognoses for eating disorders. This contributes to the global view that eating-disorder recovery is rarely achieved. Most eating-disorder documentaries and media feature stories about the failure to thrive. Fortunately, professional treatment triumphs over eating disorders more often than generally believed.
Erasing ED informs its audience about the full spectrum of an eating disorder: the etiology, the illness, and the recovery process. It serves to educate health-care providers, psychology students, and the public at large about the successful process of recovery. Above all, Erasing ED was created to inspire hope and courage in eating-disordered individuals and their families.
Crew
Nicole Laby, Director
Todd Dubnicoff, Director of Photography
Nicole Laby, Director
Nicole Laby is a psychotherapist in private practice. Nicole wrote and directed Erasing ED, a documentary on the recovery aspects of ED, and is the coauthor of the Erasing ED Treatment Manual, the companion to the film. Erasing ED won two independent film awards and can be seen nationally on PBS, accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or financial situation.
Aaron Fischer, Editor
Todd Dubnicoff, Director of Photography
Nicole Laby, Director
Aaron Fischer has been writing, producing, directing and editing documentary and narrative films for over twenty years. Aaron’s work has appeared nationwide on television, in film festivals, and through video distribution. He has received two Emmy nominations, as well as the Peabody Award for outstanding achievement in broadcasting.
Aaron
Aaron Fischer has been writing, producing, directing and editing documentary and narrative films for over twenty years. Aaron’s work has appeared nationwide on television, in film festivals, and through video distribution. He has received two Emmy nominations, as well as the Peabody Award for outstanding achievement in broadcasting.
Aaron has worked as a freelance editor throughout the San Francisco Bay area, annd also develops original projects through his company Ruby Films (www.rubyfilms.com). Photo by Aaron Fischer.
Todd Dubnicoff, Director of Photography
Todd Dubnicoff, Director of Photography
Richard Ross, Audio Post Production/Sound Design
Inspired by Carl Sagan and Kurosawa as a kid, Todd has had a life-long passion for both science and cinema. After earning his Ph.D. in molecular biology from UCLA, Todd worked in the biotech industry for years. In his spare time, he maintained a connection to the visual arts by teaching himself video editing and completing several short
Inspired by Carl Sagan and Kurosawa as a kid, Todd has had a life-long passion for both science and cinema. After earning his Ph.D. in molecular biology from UCLA, Todd worked in the biotech industry for years. In his spare time, he maintained a connection to the visual arts by teaching himself video editing and completing several short films. He is now the videographer for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) where he produces videos to help educate the public about stem cell research: www.youtube.com/cirmtv Photo ©2009 Creative Genius/Doug Logan. All Rights Reserved.
Richard Ross, Audio Post Production/Sound Design
Calliope Olivia, Cinematographer/Assistant Director
Richard Ross, Audio Post Production/Sound Design
Richard Ross, production sound mixer, audio post production engineer, composer, and flautist, holds a Masters Degree in Music Composition from the University of Oregon at Eugene with an audio engineering background. In addition to being a performing musician at the Oregon Shakespearian Festival at Ashland, he also composed music for the B
Richard Ross, production sound mixer, audio post production engineer, composer, and flautist, holds a Masters Degree in Music Composition from the University of Oregon at Eugene with an audio engineering background. In addition to being a performing musician at the Oregon Shakespearian Festival at Ashland, he also composed music for the Black Swan production of Medea by Euripides, and has scored many films. Richard sings bass with the medieval/renaissance vocal ensemble “Floracanta”, and is a member of ASCAP and The American Composers Forum. Visit Richard's website.
Photo ©2008 by Kirsten McKinzie Photography
Calliope Olivia, Cinematographer/Assistant Director
Calliope Olivia, Cinematographer/Assistant Director
Calliope Olivia, Cinematographer/Assistant Director
Calliope was a junior in the Media program at School of the Arts High School in San Francisco at the time Erasing Ed was made. Her passion is being part of the filmmaking process, whether it's writing the script, filming, editing, or directing. Calliope won Best Documentary at Camp Conquest for a short about the dying bee population, and
Calliope was a junior in the Media program at School of the Arts High School in San Francisco at the time Erasing Ed was made. Her passion is being part of the filmmaking process, whether it's writing the script, filming, editing, or directing. Calliope won Best Documentary at Camp Conquest for a short about the dying bee population, and made three independent films that played on the big screen at her school’s Media Night. Photo ©2009 Creative Genius/Doug Logan. All Rights Reserved.
Treatment Manual
About the Manual
Nicole Laby, MFT, collaborated with Sheira Kahn, MFT, and Dr. Avril Swan, M.D., to write a companion to the film, the Erasing ED Treatment Manual. The manual provides a digest of information on the assessment, diagnosis, medical aspects, etiology, and treatment of eating disorders. Like the film, it is designed to assist mental and physical health-care providers and trainees in their treatment of eating-disordered clients and patients, but parents, teachers, friends, and those who struggle themselves will also find tools and answers to the vexing, mysterious puzzle that is this cluster of illnesses.
This manuscript is unique in that it provides (1) a list of tangible techniques and their descriptions so health-care providers can implement them in their work with clients/patients, (2) an understanding of how and why eating disorders form in the psyche, and (3) insight into the medical aspects of eating disorders and effective doctor-patient relations.
Through the use of these techniques, recovery becomes a concrete process involving the application of ego state intervention and reconstitution. Eating disorder recovery does not have to be a mystery.